Daryn Okada, ASC
Biography

Daryn Okada, ASC was born and raised in Los Angeles. He displayed a very early keen interest in the visual arts, including both still photography and motion pictures. Okada began documenting family trips and experimenting with a Super 8 mm camera during his pre-teen years. He graduated from high school at the age of 16, and began working part-time as a projectionist at East Los Angeles City College.

Okada worked as a volunteer on student films and low budget independent movies mainly as a grip. He subsequently found opportunities to shoot occasional aerial sequences for commercials, and earned his first credit for Nomad Riders, an ultra-low budget film in 1981.

During the mid-1980s his career was put on hold for several years when he was injured in a helicopter crash while shooting aerial footage. Okada refused to give up. He shot several independent films during the late 1980s, and earned an Outstanding Achievement Award nomination from the American Society of Cinematographers for the Mini Series In A Child's Name in 1991.

Okada has compiled more than 30 credits, including Lake Placid, Anna Karenina, Captain Ron, Dr. Doolittle 2, Joe Somebody, Cradle 2 The Grave, Mean Girls and Paparazzi.